Sarah was the daughter of William Whitehead and is believed to be the daughter of Peggy Lewis. Assuming Sarah was at least 19 when her son William Merritt was born in 1759, she was born by 1740.
In Nov 1787 Sarah Merritt was approved by the Court as guardian to Tassy and Tamsy Merritt, orphans of Benjamin Merritt, deceased. Sarah accordingly enter into a bond of 200 pounds each with William Merritt and Ralph Mason, securities. Later, Sarah Merritt, guardian of Tazzy and Tansey Merritt, orphans of Benjamin Merritt, came into court and offered Benjamin Merritt and Joseph J. Clinch security which was approved of in the sum of 1,000 pounds each.
Sarah Whitehead Merritt was in the Nash Co., NC records in 1798 selling land, perhaps in anticipation of an out of state move.
Sources
Father's will; Halifax County, North Carolina, Wills; Author: North Carolina. County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Halifax County); Probate Place: Halifax, North Carolina. North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, Halifax Wills, Vol 1-2, 1759-1781, p 175
Probate of husband: "North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998" Wills; Author: North Carolina. County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Nash County); Probate Place: Nash, North Carolina Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 9061 #1450995 (accessed 21 November 2022) Benjamin Merritt probate in Jan 1779.
Dr. Stephen Bradley, JR; Nash Co, North Carolina Court Minutes, Vol II, 1787 - 1793, November Court 1787, original pg 5, item 37; original pg 137, item 832.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Sarah by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Sarah:
There is no proof that Sarah’s maiden name was Clinch. It’s more likely that she was Sarah Whitehead, daughter of William Whitehead. William Whitehead named a daughter “Sarah Merritt” in his will.